You searched for: “decorum
decorum (s) (noun), decorums (pl)
1. Propriety and good taste in behavior, speech, dress, etc.: Following the rules of decorum, Leslie made sure that all her guests were introduced as soon as anyone arrived at the party.

The young entertainers were expected to behave with proper decorum on the TV program.

2. Whatever is in accordance with the standard of good breeding; the avoidance of anything unseemly or offensive in manner: While Susan was on the witness stand, she responded to all of the opposing attorney's aggressive questions with remarkable decorum.

Proper behavior in a courtroom requires that everyone address the judge as, "Your Honor".

Dignity and propriety of language and behavior.
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Proper conduct.
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This entry is located in the following unit: decor- (page 1)
decorum, propriety
decorum (di KOHR uhm) (noun)
Good taste and behavior in both appearance and personal conduct: Elena was the epitome of decorum in all her business undertakings.
propriety (pruh PRIGH i tee) (noun)
That which is socially acceptable in terms of manners, conduct, and manner of speaking: Randal's behavior would not offend the propriety of the professional organization to which he hoped to belong.

Proper decorum when attending a wedding is expected because there are certain social rules that must be observed and so we should act with propriety.

(Wilfred Owen challenges our thinking about whether it is really so sweet and fitting to die for one's country)
Word Entries containing the term: “decorum
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.
It is sweet and proper (fitting or honorable) to die for one's country.

A carving in stone over the entrance to the Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia; based on a writing by Horace in his Odes, III, ii, 13.

Dulce et Decorum Est

—by Wilfred Owen, 1893-1918

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin,
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gurgling from the froth-corrupted lungs
Bitten as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori
.

Dulce (sweet)? Decorum (honorable)? Wilfred Owen himself died fighting for England in World War I, just one week before the armistice was signed and the war ended.

Poem: Dulce et Decorum Est
A World War I poem that asks if it is truly sweet and fitting to die for one's country.
This entry is located in the following unit: Poems: Index (page 1)
Word Entries at Get Words: “decorum
decorum (di KOR uhm, di KOHR uhm) (s) (noun), decorums (pl)
Correct or proper behavior which shows respect and good manners: Court decorum in a court of law requires that all parties address the judge as, "Your Honor" during the trial proceedings.

The people in the TV discussion all showed decorum except for one woman who was always interrupting and denouncing the others for their political viewpoints.

This entry is located in the following unit: English Words in Action, Group D (page 2)